


Distant

by Riona



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Gen, Guilt, mutual isolation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 03:36:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14276076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riona/pseuds/Riona
Summary: Kaede and Rantaro, after the trial.





	Distant

“You didn’t take the First Blood Perk,” Rantaro says.

Kaede wraps her arms around herself. “I couldn’t.”

“I’ve gotta say, I’m a little pissed off,” Rantaro says. “If you were gonna kill me, you could’ve at least got some use out of it.”

“That’s not the reason I did it,” Kaede says. “You know that’s not the reason, right?”

“Doesn’t matter. You could’ve lived. You could’ve got out of here.”

“I wanted to leave with everyone.”

“Yeah, but you knew it wasn’t gonna happen,” Rantaro says. “You were gonna leave on your own, or you were gonna end up dead. I know which option sounds better to me.”

The unspoken _not that I had the choice_ hangs in the air between them.

“There’s no point talking about this, right?” Kaede asks, hunching her shoulders. “It’s over.”

“I just don’t get why—”

“I didn’t deserve to leave!” It rips out of her. “I _killed_ you, Rantaro! You were just trying to help everyone, and I – when I realised you weren’t the mastermind – _God_ —”

She’s on her knees, she’s shaking. It feels like such a... living, human reaction, somehow. And then Rantaro crouches next to her and puts his arm around her back, and he feels alive as well, like something real in this muted, cut-off existence.

“I still think you made the wrong call,” he says. “But I guess it means something to hear you say that.”

-

Everything’s grey and faded, washed out. He’s the only thing that shows up in colour, apart from her. He’s the only thing that feels substantial. They can walk straight through the walls.

But they can’t leave.

“Are we trapped in this place?” Kaede asks. Half the reason she’s talking is just to break the silence; it’s driving her crazy that she can’t hear their footsteps as they walk around the perimeter, or as close to it as they’re able to get before they hit the invisible barrier. “Like, this is the place we died, this is the place we’re haunting now?”

“Seems that way,” Rantaro says.

Maybe the others will escape, eventually. She hopes they’ll escape. She’s sure they will, if they work together. But she guesses it’s too late for her and Rantaro.

“I’m sorry,” she says.

He doesn’t answer.

-

She runs through the whole school looking for Rantaro – or maybe not the _whole_ school, maybe there’s even more she hasn’t seen yet. He’s often in the hidden room beyond the library, waiting to see if the mastermind shows up – they haven’t managed to spot the mastermind yet, whoever it is – but today she finds him wandering around the warehouse. She comes to a halt for a moment, watching him. Pretends she can hear his footsteps echoing.

Of course, he catches sight of her soon enough. She can’t exactly be inconspicuous when she’s the only thing that shows up in colour for him.

“Oh, hey,” he says. “Did something happen?”

“There’s a secret passage behind that weird dragon statue!” she exclaims. “I just fell right through the wall! There are all these rooms back there, there are more of those talent labs, I swear there’s a _treasure chest_ —”

She cuts herself off. Rantaro is just... looking at her, smiling slightly, and something about it feels weird. Shouldn’t he be reacting more to this?

“Did you hear me?” she asks. “ _Secret passages_.”

“I know,” he says. “I did some exploring before you joined me, you know. There are secret passages all over the school.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugs, still smiling. “I guess I wanted to see if you’d figure it out yourself. It’s good to see you so excited.”

Kaede shifts on her feet; something about his look is making her feel she can’t stand still. “Well, if we’re going to be stuck in this place for the rest of our li—” Hold on, that doesn’t work. It’s like a sheet of icy water crashing down over her excitement. Secret passages, sure, but they’re dead, both of them, because of her own stupid mistake. “If we’re going to be stuck in this place, I guess it’s good that it’s bigger than we thought.”

-

It’s just as well she doesn’t need to sleep now. She really doesn’t think she’d be able to.

He catches her in the library, staring at the place they found him.

“Hey, you’re not still beating yourself up, are you?” he asks. “You died too, you know. We’re even. I’m over it.”

“Seriously?” she asks. “You’re _over_ it? You’re over me _murdering_ you?”

“Not really,” he admits. “I’m dead. It kind of sucks.”

God, how could she have been so stupid?

“But I’ve obviously forgiven you enough to want to lie to make you feel better, right?” he asks. “It’s not like I hate you. You screwed up, that’s all.”

Kaede looks up at the top of the bookcase, her fingers against her throat. The worst part might be how, even in all the time it took her to set up the books, she didn’t have any second thoughts.

“Do you remember it?” she asks.

“I remember coming into the library,” he says. “Lights out. Some of it kind of came back when I was watching the trial.” A pause. “You know, don’t be offended, but it wasn’t a great murder plan.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” she asks, stung, before clapping a hand over her mouth.

Rantaro starts to laugh.

-

Rantaro still falls through walls, sometimes, trying to lean against them. Kaede’s a little sorry that he’ll presumably get used to being dead eventually and stop trying, because it brightens her mood every time it happens, and she could definitely use some cheering up.

A couple of times she’s almost invited him to lean on her, if he really is incapable of standing like a normal person. If she’s honest, it wouldn’t just be for him. Sometimes she feels like she needs to touch something solid, to ground herself, and Rantaro’s the only option around. She can walk on ground level, she can sit down, but it doesn’t feel _real_ , and her hands will just sink through the floor if she tries to press them against it.

But what is she supposed to say? _Hey, can I touch you?_ Or _You know it’s okay to touch me, right?_ Just thinking it is already way too awkward.

So she just stays close to him when they’re around each other, hoping he’ll reach out, close that last bit of distance, physically connect with her somehow.

-

It’s hard to remember, watching Kaito and Shuichi talk, that _they’re_ the ones who are alive. When there’s no colour in their skin, when their edges seem so blurred and their voices sound so distant.

“Everyone’s really cut up over you,” Rantaro says.

They do seem to be. It’s making things a little uncomfortable. “I’m sure they miss you as well.”

Rantaro gives a low laugh. “I didn’t say anything about that.”

She’s glad Kaito and Shuichi seem to be bonding, at least. She doesn’t really feel she got to know Kaito before she died, but he seems like he might be what Shuichi needs right now.

She feels a little bad for eavesdropping, but it’s not like she can ask permission.

“I wish I could talk to them,” Kaede says. “I mean, I’m not trying to say you’re not great company, but... it’s a little lonely, only being able to speak to one person.”

Rantaro shrugs. “Well, maybe if we’re lucky there’ll be more killings.”

Kaede winces. “That’s awful. Don’t say that.”

“What? It’d liven things up for us, at least. Deaden things up?”

“Rantaro.”

“Look,” Rantaro says, serious now, “I know I chewed you out for letting yourself get executed, but... I don’t know, I guess it’s good not to be alone.”

She hesitates, then shifts over and nudges his shoulder with hers, trying not to make it seem as calculated a move as it feels in her head. It’s not like there’s anything _wrong_ with what she’s doing, but something about it feels devious. He rests his hand against hers in return, not quite holding it, and she closes her eyes for a moment, focusing on that point of contact. 

“I know what you mean,” she says. It seems like a better response than _I’m glad you’re here too_.

-

“Kirumi’s plotting something,” Rantaro says.

Kaede stares at him for a moment. “What?”

“I was watching the setup for the magic show,” Rantaro says. “So I could figure out how the trick worked.”

“You really don’t get the spirit of magic shows, do you?”

“Anyway, Kirumi stayed behind to tie a rope to the window. I’m pretty sure she’s planning a murder.”

“No way,” Kaede says. “Kirumi? No way. She wouldn’t.”

“I guess sometimes you don’t know what a person’s capable of,” Rantaro says.

Kaede has to drop her eyes from his.

“Maybe it’s part of the trick,” she says to the floor.

“Hm,” Rantaro says. “Maybe.”

There’s a silence, which Kaede spends trying to press down the rising uncertainty inside her.

“But what if it’s not?” she asks, looking up.

“Then I guess we’re gonna see another trial.”

“I mean, what do we do? How do we stop it?”

“Pretty sure we don’t,” Rantaro says. “We can’t talk to people. We can’t touch anything.”

“There must be _something_ we can do!”

She’s staring at him, desperate, and he just looks back calmly. There’s nothing they can do.

Honestly, she hates it, but there’s a part of her that’s almost...

Well. Maybe he was right, before. They’re trapped here. If there are no more killings, if everyone escapes alive, it’ll just be her and Rantaro, here in this empty school, for... forever, she guesses. If someone else dies, it’d be terrible, but it might be a little less lonely, at least.

“Do you know who she’s planning to kill?” she asks at last. She’s trying not to hope for anyone specific. There’s already enough she can’t forgive herself for.

“Come on,” Rantaro says, waving her over. “Let’s watch her. See who’s coming to say hi.”


End file.
